Skip to main content

Lund University Publications

LUND UNIVERSITY LIBRARIES

Technical and conceptual considerations for using animated stimuli in studies of animal behavior

Chouinard-Thuly, Laura ; Gierszewski, Stefanie ; Rosenthal, Gil G. ; Reader, Simon M. ; Rieucau, Guillaume ; Woo, Kevin L. ; Gerlai, Robert ; Tedore, Cynthia LU ; Ingley, Spencer J. and Stowers, John R. , et al. (2017) In Current Zoology 63(1). p.5-19
Abstract

Rapid technical advances in the field of computer animation (CA) and virtual reality (VR) have opened new avenues in animal behavior research. Animated stimuli are powerful tools as they offer standardization, repeatability, and complete control over the stimulus presented, thereby "reducing" and "replacing" the animals used, and "refining" the experimental design in line with the 3Rs. However, appropriate use of these technologies raises conceptual and technical questions. In this review, we offer guidelines for common technical and conceptual considerations related to the use of animated stimuli in animal behavior research. Following the steps required to create an animated stimulus, we discuss (I) the creation, (II) the presentation,... (More)

Rapid technical advances in the field of computer animation (CA) and virtual reality (VR) have opened new avenues in animal behavior research. Animated stimuli are powerful tools as they offer standardization, repeatability, and complete control over the stimulus presented, thereby "reducing" and "replacing" the animals used, and "refining" the experimental design in line with the 3Rs. However, appropriate use of these technologies raises conceptual and technical questions. In this review, we offer guidelines for common technical and conceptual considerations related to the use of animated stimuli in animal behavior research. Following the steps required to create an animated stimulus, we discuss (I) the creation, (II) the presentation, and (III) the validation of CAs and VRs. Although our review is geared toward computer-graphically designed stimuli, considerations on presentation and validation also apply to video playbacks. CA and VR allow both new behavioral questions to be addressed and existing questions to be addressed in new ways, thus we expect a rich future for these methods in both ultimate and proximate studies of animal behavior.

(Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; and , et al. (More)
; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; and (Less)
organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
keywords
Animal behavior, Animated stimulus, Computer animation, Experimental design, Virtual reality, Visual communication
in
Current Zoology
volume
63
issue
1
pages
15 pages
publisher
Oxford University Press
external identifiers
  • scopus:85014841406
ISSN
1674-5507
DOI
10.1093/cz/zow104
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
16173091-30a3-4a67-bfd9-0727d1907189
date added to LUP
2019-01-28 15:42:07
date last changed
2022-04-25 20:49:24
@article{16173091-30a3-4a67-bfd9-0727d1907189,
  abstract     = {{<p>Rapid technical advances in the field of computer animation (CA) and virtual reality (VR) have opened new avenues in animal behavior research. Animated stimuli are powerful tools as they offer standardization, repeatability, and complete control over the stimulus presented, thereby "reducing" and "replacing" the animals used, and "refining" the experimental design in line with the 3Rs. However, appropriate use of these technologies raises conceptual and technical questions. In this review, we offer guidelines for common technical and conceptual considerations related to the use of animated stimuli in animal behavior research. Following the steps required to create an animated stimulus, we discuss (I) the creation, (II) the presentation, and (III) the validation of CAs and VRs. Although our review is geared toward computer-graphically designed stimuli, considerations on presentation and validation also apply to video playbacks. CA and VR allow both new behavioral questions to be addressed and existing questions to be addressed in new ways, thus we expect a rich future for these methods in both ultimate and proximate studies of animal behavior.</p>}},
  author       = {{Chouinard-Thuly, Laura and Gierszewski, Stefanie and Rosenthal, Gil G. and Reader, Simon M. and Rieucau, Guillaume and Woo, Kevin L. and Gerlai, Robert and Tedore, Cynthia and Ingley, Spencer J. and Stowers, John R. and Frommen, Joachim G. and Dolins, Francine L. and Witte, Klaudia}},
  issn         = {{1674-5507}},
  keywords     = {{Animal behavior; Animated stimulus; Computer animation; Experimental design; Virtual reality; Visual communication}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  month        = {{01}},
  number       = {{1}},
  pages        = {{5--19}},
  publisher    = {{Oxford University Press}},
  series       = {{Current Zoology}},
  title        = {{Technical and conceptual considerations for using animated stimuli in studies of animal behavior}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/cz/zow104}},
  doi          = {{10.1093/cz/zow104}},
  volume       = {{63}},
  year         = {{2017}},
}